Camping and Assassination

The city patrol guards were highly skilled. In just over ten minutes, the giant wolf's corpse had been skinned and dismembered, then methodically packed into black bags prepared in advance.

Blue patterns were woven across the bags' surfaces, and wisps of cold air drifted out when their openings were unsealed.

The students nearby grumbled under their breaths.

"The first defensive fortress is ten kilometers outside the city, and city patrol guards inspect the area in between. That Glutton Wolf was only a first-tier mutant. There's no way it could have broken through all those defenses."

"This had to be deliberate. They were trying to scare us."

The guy speaking pushed up his glasses, which bore a clear crack across one lens. He laid out his analysis with great confidence, only to be met with a burst of laughter.

"Anyone can act smart after the fact. Who was it that nearly shoved his head into the ground just now?"

The bespectacled youth flushed red and explained, "What do you know? Glutton Wolves rely primarily on their sense of smell. I was masking my scent."

Everyone burst into laughter. After that unexpected incident, their relationships had actually become much friendlier. Mainly because they had discovered that they were all the same damn mess—none of them was any better than the others.

"None of the people who left the city before ever mentioned mutant creatures suddenly popping out to scare people. Is the secrecy really that tight?"

Once everything had been cleaned up, the group reorganized and set off again. There were no more incidents afterward.

As time passed, the grayish-white mist gradually darkened toward black. Visibility grew worse and worse, until they could barely see two or three people ahead of or behind them.

"Stop!"

Hu Xiang's deep, powerful voice still pierced through the mist and landed clearly in everyone's ears.

"Prepare to set up camp," he shouted in a low voice. The students, who had been holding their breath and staying on edge, could not help but relax.

The city patrol guards were already moving, pulling white crystal pillars from the packs on their backs and arranging them in a hexagon around the entire group.

Then, at another command, they twisted the knobs at the bottom.

Bzzzz—

White light flowed through the crystal pillars like tassels, linking them together to form a milky-white energy shield that covered the entire group. The mist within the shield gradually dispersed.

"So this is a Camp Pillar. It's my first time seeing one deployed like this..."

The students discussed it quietly, as though knowledge from their textbooks had suddenly come to life before their eyes.

The energy barrier gradually expanded, eventually forming a fairly broad space. Small tents were quickly erected one after another.

In the central area, the city patrol guards responsible for logistics had already set up metal stoves. They took out small crimson crystal blocks and drew flames from them, then set the previously skinned beast meat over the fire to roast. Fat sizzled and crackled.

They had walked for most of the day, their minds constantly tense and their physical strength greatly depleted. They were already starving. Now, at the smell of roasting meat, every pair of eyes lit up.

"This stuff is quite nourishing for people like you." Hu Xiang pulled out a black iron dagger, sliced off a piece of roasted meat, and casually tossed it to Zhou Zong.

"Thank you, Captain..." Zhou Zong secretly swelled with pride, though he kept a humble expression.

The others secretly curled their lips, filled with envy and jealousy.

Hu Xiang acted as though he had not heard them. He cut off another piece, thought for a moment, then tossed it casually under everyone's watchful gazes.

Su Chen caught a large chunk of roasted meat in surprise. The others exchanged looks, equally stunned.

No one found it strange that Hu Xiang gave Zhou Zong special treatment. After all, Zhou Zong's father was an important figure in the city.

But what was so special about Su Chen that Hu Xiang thought so highly of him?

When the Glutton Wolf had attacked earlier, this guy had blatantly hidden behind Bai Fengxi. He seemed like a real coward.

Hu Xiang saw the exchange of looks among the students and could not help sighing inwardly. This kid was about to have his last meal. Letting him eat in comfort would at least ease some of his guilt.

He cut off another piece and stuffed it into his own mouth. The others also accepted the meat handed over by the city patrol guards and began eating.

"This tastes pretty good..." Su Chen took a bite. The meat was tender, and not only that, his body gradually began to feel warm.

Why does it feel almost the same as drinking a Blood-Activating Potion...?

After taking two more bites, Su Chen noticed the changes in his body and could not help thinking.

Could the ingredients for Blood-Activating Potions be these mutant creatures? No wonder those city patrol guards didn't even leave the bones behind. They must be valuable too...

Having realized the benefits, Su Chen naturally did not hold back. He began wolfing it down, stuffing mouthful after mouthful into his mouth. His hands dripped with oil, and his wild eating manner drew quite a few sidelong glances.

"This brother is really... uninhibited," someone remarked.

"Liu Liang, we're classmates. How can you talk like that?" Zhou Zong said with feigned displeasure. "Although Su Chen is a drifter, everyone has their own way of eating. There's no need to mock him."

Liu Liang looked utterly baffled. Who was mocking him? Hadn't he merely made an observation?

Wait... a drifter?

"A drifter?" Shen Ying'er looked over in astonishment. "He's a drifter? How could Teacher Jiang He possibly take a liking to..."

"You didn't know?" Zhou Zong wore an expression of surprise, as though he had not expected it.

Su Chen raised his head and glanced at him. If a student died outside the city, it seemed a highly detailed investigation report would be required.

He continued stuffing food into his mouth, appearing focused only on eating. For a moment, the atmosphere became strange.

Everyone could see that Zhou Zong was targeting Su Chen, but no one spoke. As for Su Chen's identity as a drifter, most of the students present did not have any particular reaction.

They were not from wealthy city families. Their households were neither poor nor rich enough to look down on drifters. They were more surprised than anything else.

Only a small handful looked at Su Chen with distance in their eyes.

When Zhou Zong realized Su Chen was ignoring him, he became even more irritated. Because of his father's instructions, he had held himself back ever since leaving the city. He had only taken the chance to suppress Su Chen now, yet it felt like punching cotton.

"Enough. We'll assign the night watches now." Hu Xiang cut off the potential dispute and rose to his feet. "The city patrol guards will be primarily responsible for watch duty, with one student assigned to each group. There will be three rotating shifts."

This was an important part of the field experience, so the students were not surprised. They had heard about it beforehand.

The arrangements were soon made. There were three shifts, each with fifteen people, standing guard within fifty to one hundred meters of the camp and watching out for one another.

Su Chen was assigned to the first shift.

"...Your first priority is preventing danger. Even if your companion dies right in front of you, do not interfere..."

The old soldier paired with Su Chen told him to call him "Old Zhao." His temples had already turned white as he calmly and unhurriedly explained the precautions.

Everyone else had returned to rest, while they stepped outside the barrier, dispersed in different directions, and headed for their watch positions.

The mist began moving faster, while the wind howled mournfully.

In the night fog, the firefly lamp on Old Zhao's back could illuminate only one or two meters ahead. Beyond that was pure darkness.

"This should be about right..." Old Zhao used a positioning device displaying a string of numbers to mark their location. He glanced at Su Chen and asked curiously, "Are you really a drifter?"

"Yeah." Su Chen admitted it openly.

"Impressive..." Old Zhao sighed, feeling a trace of admiration. Recalling what had happened during the day, he could not help saying, "That Zhou Zong seems to be targeting you because of Jiang He. It wasn't easy for you to get into the academy, so just endure it. It'll pass."

"Jiang He?" Su Chen paused. "You mean Bai Fengxi?"

These city patrol guards were well-trained and had not deliberately asked about the students along the way. They had only overheard a few things while handing out the meat that afternoon.

Old Zhao had probably heard the unfinished sentence from Shen Ying'er and mistaken Bai Fengxi for Jiang He.

"That girl is called Bai Fengxi?" Old Zhao was confused. "Then that other girl... the distinctive-looking one said, 'How could Jiang He possibly take a liking to you...'"

"Jiang He is a teacher at the academy," Su Chen explained.

"A teacher?" Old Zhao froze, as though realizing something. The look in his eyes shifted several times as he stared at Su Chen.

"Yes, she was the one who brought me into the academy." Seeing the old man hesitate to speak, Su Chen explained helplessly.

Old Zhao held it in for a long while. Recalling his earlier advice, he finally managed to say two words. "Impressive..."

Su Chen smiled but said nothing.

Standing watch was rather boring. The two of them had opened up the conversation, so they chatted on and off.

At the same time, another cluster of firefly light moved through the darkness.

"...The city patrol camp should be somewhere not far ahead..." One of them was thin and held a positioning device as well, comparing their direction. "According to the information, that guy will be assigned to night watch at the southeastern corner of the camp."

"At ten tonight, he'll be the only one there. We have three minutes to take him away."

"Damn, this night is scary as hell..." The other man was rather fat, his features bunched together as he complained, "He's just a drifter, yet they sent the two of us to do it and make us suffer through this crap."

The man holding the positioning device frowned and snapped, "Enough. This guy is connected to the deaths of Old Ghost and Da Zhuang. We need to make absolutely certain."

"It's eight now. We still have two hours. Don't get too close and alert those city patrol guards."

"...You mean ruins?" Old Zhao said with a wistful expression. "Those things seem to have been left behind from a very, very long time ago. There are plenty of good things inside—weapons, materials, technology, even information about professions. Almost all of it was excavated from ruins..."

"But they're also dangerous. Six or seven years ago, I was temporarily assigned to a newly discovered ruin. You wouldn't believe it—it was the corpse of a colossal beast larger than a mountain. Every mutant creature inside had the strength of a professional..."

Su Chen listened carefully, learning more information.

Suddenly, the positioning device in Old Zhao's hand began trembling in a peculiar rhythm.

Old Zhao's expression shifted. His brows furrowed tightly, and he fell silent. Only after a moment did he speak. "Su Chen, something seems to be happening. I'll go take a look..."

"If I'm not back in three minutes, report it."

"Shouldn't I come with you?" Su Chen could not help asking.

"Follow orders," Old Zhao said gravely. He did not explain further. Leaving his lamp with Su Chen, he cautiously slipped into the darkness alone.

Not long after.

"Old Zhao..." A voice suddenly sounded in front of him. Old Zhao jumped in fright, then looked carefully and exchanged the signal. Only then did he relax. "Captain, why are you here?"

Hu Xiang's expression was complicated. He did not respond. Old Zhao did not think much of it and turned to leave. "I'll head back first. I don't want that kid Su Chen to alarm the camp later."

"Su Chen is already dead..." Hu Xiang said helplessly.

"Dead... dead?" Old Zhao stopped and turned back in shock, asking nervously, "What happened? What was it?"

He had assumed it was something lurking in the darkness, but Hu Xiang remained silent for a long time. Only then did he realize, and he could not help blurting out, "Captain, was it you?"

Hu Xiang took a deep breath and shook his head. "It was a Mist Nightmare. You tried your best to resist, but there was nothing you could do. I arrived too late and could only save you. Do you understand?"

"Captain... how could you..." Old Zhao's expression changed. Unspeakable disappointment appeared in his eyes, but in the end, he could only say dejectedly, "I understand."

Su Chen stared into the darkness in the distance, hesitating slightly. This was his first time outside the city, so he should probably follow the rules. He was only a first-tier professional, after all.

But a moment later, Su Chen abruptly turned his gaze toward a certain direction. His eyes immediately became uncertain and suspicious.

Within his vague spiritual perception, two people were sneaking toward him.

His perception range had been suppressed to only three or four meters. That practically meant they were already right in front of him.

Why did two people suddenly appear? Su Chen's heart tightened as his vigilance rose to the extreme.

In his perception, the two people split apart to his left and right, closing in from both sides.

They're coming for me? A cold glint flashed through Su Chen's eyes.

Who had sent them? Zhou Zong? Qi Chuan? Or... Jiang He?